can't see it, it's so obvious, he's guilty." and i say, "how on earth could you think that? there's no evidence." and we just go back and forth like that. it's impossible to get around. >> gabriel is a father himself now. a daughter. his father in prison has met his little girl, but anna hasn't. maybe one day, not yet. >> we love each other very much. we have a bond as brother and sister that was very strong as children, and it will always be there. this is a really difficult situation for both of us. we'll get through it. it's all that's left of our perfect family is the two of us. we can't let that go. that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again next friday at 8:00, 7:00 central. i'm lester holt.

"rock center with brian williams" starts now. ladies and gentlemen, this is the national broadcasting company. >> tonight on "rock center," it's one of medicine's hottest technologies. a surgical system that combines robotics with a human surgeon. dr. nancy snyderman investigates a controversy. are some health care providers so eager to use it that some patients are put at risk? >> i assumed that i just was one of the unluckiest women in the world -- >> until? >> until i met with a new ob-gyn. he said, "well, did you have the da vinci robot?" i said, "yes, i did." also, he's the youngest person ever to build a nuclear racktor, and he's met the president. harry smith meets a teenage genius whose quest to change the

world started in his parents' garage. also, the whole world saw what happened to her at the hands of her husband, and it made her the face of suffering around the world. tonight, ann curry report on her journey to recovery and the american family that risked so much to help her. >> this is what i don't understand. you met her once. >> yeah. >> so why did you open your life to her? also tonight, his talent as a dog whisperer made him rich and famous. but then his life fell apart. tonight, caesar milan reveals to kate snow what went wrong and how he's working at rebuilding it. plus, the emwe hagem we hav uncovered out of our film vault out of the "mad men" era. the women of the skies, building the perfect stewardess. that and more as "rock center" gets underway. good evening and welcome to "rock center." we begin tonight with a report on one of the most sought-after

and still-emerging technologies in medicine. it's robotic surgery with an assist from the skilled hands of a human surgeon. of course all surgery comes with significant risks, no operating room or technique is immune from error. but some high-profile critics have been wondering about this technique. is it possible some health care providers are so much in favor of it that it's actually adding to patient risk? we start off here tonight with dr. nancy snyderman. you have some stunning wedding photos in your house. >> thank you. >> when you look at that young woman, do you see you? >> i see who i used to be. >> just one year into her second marriage, michelle zarrick learned she needed a hysterectomy, and her long-time doctor wanted to use the latest high-tech device to make the surgery easier on michelle. >> the procedure that she

focused on and was very excitable about was the robotic-assisted hysterectomy. >> that's right. a hysterectomy with the help of a robot that has bionic arms. it's called the dra vinci, and it's the hottest trend in surgery. >> the da vinci surgical robotic system -- >> its dazzling technology is promoted everywhere. there are television ads, glossy brochur brochures, and public demonstrations at science museums and shopping malls. even president obama was invited to test drive a surgical robot. as the patient lies on the operating table, the doctor sits at a console several feet away. remotely manipulating surgical instruments while watching every move through a three-dimensional viewfinder. many surgeons say that makes it easier to see and to navigate hard-to-reach places as the robotic instrument go where the human hand cannot.

there are also smaller incisions and less bleeding. michelle says her doctor, an ob-g ob-gyn, convinced her it was the way to go. >> she mentioned that doing the robotic-assisted hysterectomy would shorten my recovery time at home. >> you'd feel better and bounce back faster. >> right. right. >> okay. instead, she suffered a horrific complication that's impossible to imagine. when you signed your consent form, was one of the complications the fact that your intestines could fall out of your vagina? >> no. >> michelle says that's exactly what happened. five weeks after her surgery in february, 2009, she was rushed to the hospital. >> i knew that the -- the situation that i was in at that moment was dire. i knew that it was -- that it wasn't good. >> surgeons were able to repair the damage from the devastating complication. michelle says the damage to her physical relationship with her husband has been profound.

you know, women get hysterectomies all the time. >> yeah. >> you don't have to blame yourself forever. >> i'm starting to see that now. for a long time, i assumed that i just was one of the unluckiest women in the world. >> until? >> until i met with a new ob-gyn in october of last year. >> while giving her medical history, michelle brought up her hysterectomy complication. >> and i said, "i realize i'm very rare." he said, "well, not as -- not as rare as you would think. did you have the da vinci robot?" i said, "yes, i did." >> michelle learned the fda has received reports of problems with many kinds of da vinci surgeries. over 200 instances of burns, cuts, and infections, including 89 deaths since 2007. >> we have shown that these injuries are occurring.

>> dr. francois bordeaux is a gynecologic surgeon. >> hospitals have to be careful about credentialing surgeons, inbound informed consent with patients, overbranding or overmarketing the robot as this great thing. maybe it's just another tool, right? maybe it's not as great as they say it is. >> the vast majority of the nearly 400,000 robotic surgeries performed in the united states every year do not have complications. but here's what has many medical experts concerned -- they say the demand for the robot is being driven by a very aggressive marketing campaign. dr. marty mccary is a surgeon at johns hopkins university hospital. >> when hospitals feel that they have to have a robot just to compete with other hospitals that are marketing the robot on the afternoon news, then we've got a sad state of affairs in american medicine. >> he says the robotic approach

is not always better than existing surgical techniques. >> we've got great state-of-the-art, minimally invasive techniques that have worked for years, sometimes decades, that are now being replaced with more expensive robotic technology without a benefit to the patients. >> a recent study in a major medical journal found that the robotic surgery did not reduce complication rates for hysterectomy. though it did add over $2,000 more to the cost of the surgery. and this spring, a leading organization of gynecologists cautioned members to "separate the marketing hype from the reality when considering the best surgical approach" for their patients. >> the robot is a technical tour de force. but i think patients need to know that for some procedures, there's no benefit. >> how do you think robotic surgery helps patients? >> it allows the surgeon to be able to do a better procedure. >> dr. katherine moore, the director of medical research at

intuitive surgical, says the robot is especially good for complicated cases. >> it gives the surgeon more dexterity. it gives them better vision. and it gives them the ability to give that patient a minimally invasive procedure, but with no large incision to recover from. >> demand is growing. annual sales have increased 41% in the last decade. >> the question facing intuitive -- >> herb greensburg has been reporting about da vinci for cnbc. he says when a hospital spends $1.5 million to buy a robot, there's pressure to use it for as many surgeries as possible in order to rekuhn the hefty investment. >> it can take quite a long time, especially if you're a smaller procedure that doesn't do as many procedures. >> why would a smaller hospital need a robot? >> every hospital needs a robot. that seems to be the push. again, this is remarkable as we look at the story. this was sold originally to

major medical centers, major clinics. and now it's filtering to community hospitals. >> critics say that salespeople should not be persuading doctors to change their surgical approaches. i have a -- an e-mail here from a clinical sales director. and i'm going read this verba m verbatim. "be proactive in finding cases to convert. be prepared to challenge each trained surgeon every time you see a laparoscopy or open case. be unsatisfied with the thought of ending a day without a converted case." that feels like an intrusion. >> that is a looking for cases that are being done open that could be done in a minimally invasive way, and reminding the surgeon that there is another option. that is not practice of medicine. >> be unsatisfied with the thought of ending a day without a converted case? that's changing medicine. >> that --

>> that's changing medicine. >> at the end of the day, the summerons made the ultimate -- surgeons made the ultimate decision on what was best for their patient. >> da vinci is being criticized for pushing summrgeons through e training process too quickly. >> uh-huh. >> tell me from your vantage point, what should someone who wants to embrace this technology have to do to prove their proficiency? >> well, first, they need to be a proficient surgeon. the company is not going to teach someone how to do surgery. >> the company says it's the hospital's responsibility to determine who is qualified and allowed to use the robot. >> it isn't up to a company who gets to operate. >> shouldn't you have a voice? >> is it the role of a company to decide the practice of medicine? >> i think if you give a damn it is. >> i -- i believe that we can do our best to teach people how to use our systems and our instruments as well as they can.

>> the fda is looking into a growing number of reported injuries with the da vinci to see if they are simply the result of more robotic surgeries being done or because of a problem with the machines or even the surgeons using them. as for michelle zarick's devastating complication, intuitive surgical has denied all allegations that it was caused by the da vinci. meanwhile, michelle says she's learned to ask tougher questions of her doctors. >> i think the most important thing is to be your own advocate in any situation when it comes to your health. >> the story of the robot is really the story of american medicine. expensive technology, poor evaluation, and little communication with patients about the research and the data about robotic surgery. >> dr. nancy snyderman here with us. one of the more thought-provoking stories we've done in a long time. the first of the lawsuits against intuitive surgical just went to trial. what happened?

>> surgeons settled the malpractice claim before the trial. intuitive surgical did not settle and was found not flyball a patient's death. so -- not liable in a patient's death. so that's been closely watched. the real take-home for people is when you talk to your surgeon ask if a robot is going to be involved. then ask your surgeon how many have you done, are you well equipped to do this. and frankly, i think that's the patient's right, but i think the hospitals have a responsibility to set the bar higher than they have to make sure they're not setting up doctors who have done three, four, and five. this is really exciting technology. the great technology does not make great surgeons. great surgeons make the technology even better. >> great work on your part, dr. nancy snyderman. thank you as always. we'll take a break. up next, he's so blisteringly smart, he's already built a nuclear reactor. harry smith tonight on the teenager who can't quite explain where he gets it and his parents who can't quite explain where he gets it either. what's better, saving a bunch or not saving at all?

[ kids ] a bunch! what would you buy with all this money you saved? i'd buy a change-o machine so i could change my brother into a puppy. change-o machine? couldn't you just buy an actual puppy? but if my brother's a puppy i could bring him to show and tell and say, "here's my puppy brother!" well when you say it like that it makes perfect sense. [ male announcer ] it's not complicated. saving is better. come to at&t and trade up to iphone 5. get it now for $99.99 when you trade in your current smartphone. ♪ when you trade in your current smartphone. temperature: 72 degrees... wow, nice. uh huh, voice -activated, and great gas mileage. better than choosing voice activated or great gas mileage. ha, that'd be like police who protect or serve... police! freeze! hey! can we get you something to eat!? we have a delicious sea bass. served with roasted vegetables or rice. i like "and" better. yeah "and" is better. the 2013 edge. only ford gives you ecoboost fuel economy and a whole lot more. go further.

[ sneezes ] you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. it's the only place for st. john's bay. and with this weekend's coupon, you can save $10 when you spend $50. so come back to jcpenney. and put the happy in happy father's day. like other precious things that start off white, it yellows over time. when it comes to your smile, if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest whitestrips whiten as well as $500 professional treatments. guaranteed. crest 3d white whitestrips. guaranteed. so you can capture your receipts, ink for all business purchases. and manage them online with jot, the latest app from ink.

so you can spend less time doing paperwork. and more time doing paperwork. ink from chase. so you can. a talking car. but i'll tell you what impresses me. a talking train. this ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what it's carrying, while using less fuel. delivering whatever the world needs, when it needs it. ♪ after all, what's the point of talking if you don't have something important to say? ♪

>> great work on your part, dr. gets it either.gets it either. welcome back. most of us are unable to build our very own nuclear reactor, at least in our teenage years. who has the tools and the space? you're about to meet taylor wilson who has in fact already achieved that rare milestone and

is looking at a better than average future in the world of science. tonight harry smith introduces us to the young man who's been surprising people for his entire young life. i found it based off a -- a 1955 thesis. >> spend a few minutes with taylor wilson, and you know you're with an extraordinary person. hike with him in the mountains of western nevada, and you will learn what makes him tick. this is just a pile from when they dug out the mine. >> exactly. >> rarely does a minute go by when taylor is not thinking about atoms and all the things he wants to make them do. >> there's constant disintegration and emitting of manager going on around us from all this radioactivity. there's something very powerful about being able to manipulate that, right, controlling that power. >> for by harnessing nuclear energy, 19-year-old taylor wilson thinks he can make the world a better, safer place. and he might just be the one to do it. have you thought about i could

be a person who changes the world? >> that's what i've always wanted to do. i don't think i want to die or go out of this world without doing something that has a huge impact. >> reporter: that my contribution will be, you know, clean fusion energy which is -- incredibly abundant, very powerful. but you know, completely clean. >> clean nuclear fusion. the colliding of atoms to create energy. the heretofore unreachable solution to the world's energy needs. if you don't think he's serious, gets this -- at 14, taylor built his own nuclear reactor. which led us to wonder how exactly do you raise a genius. taylor wilson was born in texarkana, arkansas. his dad, kenneth, is a coca-cola bott bottle. his mom, tiffany, is a former yoga teacher. they say they haven't a clue where taylor gets his smarts. do you have any geniuses in your tsunami. >> ton my -- in your family? >> not to my knowledge, we're just hard-working people. >> how about you? >> no. no one with an interest in science.

so -- we're not sure where he came from. >> wherever he came from, his parents quickly saw he was more than just smart. >> there are five things involved in the space launch. >> as a little boy, taylor was obsessed with space. but it was the power of the atom that truly energized his intellect. even the head of nuclear engineering at the university of tennessee was in awe. >> they just started conversing. and we get ready to leave, and he said, "taylor," she'd, "i know it's going to be several years, but when you get ready to go to college, i have a scholarship for you." >> when he was 8? >> yes. i walked out of that building that day and said, "there's something special here that i've got to treat special." >> so tiffany and kenneth went out of their way to feed taylor's interests. the real shocker -- everything taylor knows about nuclear science he taught himself thanks to the internet. >> my entire learning process was building experiments and

buying equipment and -- and collecting the stuff and seeing how it reacted. >> in elementary school, he began amassing all things radioactive. many items manufactured before there was an awareness of the danger involved. this is stuff that you started collecting when you were a little kid, all radioactive? >> all radioactive. a lot of things you wouldn't expect like these consumer items. this plate is -- it's intensely radioactive. so i got to a point where i'd collected a bunch of stuff. i realized that i wanted to make something radioactive. at the time i didn't have weapons-grade plutonium laying around the house, and so i realized i -- the easiest way is to build a fusion reactor. >> at 11, little taylor told his parents of his big plan -- to build a nuclear reactor in the family garage. >> and we said -- sure, taylor, you can do that. >> we thought, you know, he'll never do that. but taylor was like that. you know, anything he did, you know, he was going to do. >> were you ever afraid for him? >> we were scared to death just

to be honest. but if taylor's going to learn, he had to experience it. >> while taylor was pulling together the pieces for his reactor -- >> taylor wilson. >> he was bored silly in junior high. ken and tiffany found the solution in reno, nevada. the davidson academy for the profoundly gifted. >> the only thing i was worried about was that it would be a school for nerds. >> so selective, they had met a tiny handful of selected students. taylor and his younger brother joey, a math wiz, both got in. the wilsons moved to reno. davidson sits on the university of nevada campus. taylor quickly found the professor with a pedigree in fusion research. nuclear physicist ron feneff. >> when i met taylor he was 13, and he was under five-feet tall. he was going to build this reactor in the garage. and all the time he was talking, i was thinking, mm, if i were his parents, i don't think i'd

want a reactor in my garage. >> he offered taylor a corner of his lab instead. once you got to know him and started working with him, did you think prodigy? >> yeah, it didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that this was a prodigy. probably one of the most brilliant people if not the most brilliant person i've ever met. >> just five months after he met dr. feneff, taylor made nuclear fusion. not the kind that could create an endless energy supply, but an important step to that ultimate goal. >> i started jumping up and down and high-fiving. i mean, i was very excited. >> he was 14 years old. making him the youngest person ever to do it. >> see if we can crank this thing up. >> he showed us how it works. and we almost understood it. there it is. >> there you go. >> wow. >> that's the plasma. >> this is the same basic nuclear reaction that's constantly taking place in the sun and all the stars. you've re-created what happens inside a star. >> exactly.

replaced the gravity and the large quantities of fuel with a small amount of fuel and essentially electricity. >> but creating fusion wasn't the end. it was the beginning. >> in that moment, i thought, well, yeah, fusion's cool. but this isn't particularly novel. i want to go out and actually do something now. i want to challenge. >> since then, he's invented a cheaper way to make medical isotopes for cancer detection and treatment. he's also built a screening system that will detect nuclear material struggled in shipping containers. >> the plan is to put ten of these out at ports for six months, kind of like a beta test. no, i've proven that this can detect weapons-grade plutonium. >> it won him first prize at the intel science fair. and an invitation to the white house. >> let's test this sucker out, see if it works. >> yeah. well, they wouldn't let me turn it on. secret service really didn't want me bringing my nuclear reactor in here. [ laughter ] >> you got to meet the president. what did he say? >> he said, "why haven't we hired this guy yet?" he thought i was going work for him. of course, i respect him and his department.

i think i'm going sell these things to him. we'll see how it goes. >> so taylor is a genius and an entrepreneur. and yes, the government is interested in his invention. it might also be interested in all that stuff he's been collecting. what do you keep in the safe? >> higher activity stuff. stuff that's a little bit more dangerous. we've got things like yellow cake inside here. >> you have yellow cake? >> a little bit of yellow cake. it's quite radioactive. >> and this is the stuff that nagjir was stolg shoelling to s hussein and that's why we went to war. you made this? >> it's homemade. >> does the department of homeland security know you have this? >> they know it's here. it's not illegal or anything, but they definitely keep an eye on me. >> the latest idea could be an energy game-changer. he's re-imagined a technology he says is stuck in another century. >> the power plant designs we have right now are essentially the same reactor design we came

up with in the 1950s. >> taylor's figured out how to build mini nuclear power plants that he says will not malfunction. >> what i developed was essentially something that is buried below the ground, and it's a box. you can think of it more like a battery than a reactor. it's very stable. it doesn't mean much maintaining. and it can't have these kind of accidents that a typical nuclear reactor has. >> no meltdowns? >> no meltdowns. in the event of any incident in the reactor, all the radiation stays inside the core. >> self-contained. >> exactly. >> with the help of a fellowship that pays him to skip college, he's starting his own doump -- own company to bring these reactors and ideas to market. >> he's going to do something that's going to change the world. i feel privileged to have him come along during the last few years of my own career. it's been really fun. it's been a great ride. >> taylor is also enjoying the ride. but only he can envision the road ahead. are you on the ground floor of your own imagination? >> i've got a lot more ideas. in fact, i won't be able to get

through them all probably in my lifetime, but i'm working on what i can. and it's only going up from here. >> how incredible is he? harry smith with our report tonight from reno, nevada. we'll take a break. up next, ann curry's report on a woman who became a symbol of courage and how her life changed thanks to an extraordinary american family. [ female announcer ] love. it's the most powerful thing on the planet. love holds us in the beginning. comforts us as we grow old. love is the reason you care. for all the things in your life... that make life worth living. ♪ ♪ sweet love of mine we're headed the same way, right? yeah. ♪ [ panting ] uh... after you.

♪ [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] it's all in how you get there. the srx, from cadillac. awarded best interior design of any luxury brand. lease this 2013 cadillac srx for around $399 per month, with premium care maintenance included. lintroducing the lifter foundation from maybelline new york our first lifting foundation with smoothing primer swirled inside. obeyond covering, helps restore smoothness, elasticity,

for younger-looking skin, instantly. the lifter ♪ maybe it's maybelline. lets you connect up to 25 devices on one easy to manage plan. that means your smartphone, her blackberry, his laptop, mark's smartphone... but i'm still on vacation... ...still on the plan. nice! so is his tablet, that guy's hotspot, the intern's tablet. the intern gets a tablet? everyone's devices. his, hers, oh sorry... all easier to manage on the share everything plan for small business. connecting more so you can do more. that's powerful. verizon.

get the blackberry q10 for $199.99. the ones getting involved and staying engaged. they're not afraid to question the path they're on. because the one question they never want to ask is "how did i end up here?" i started schwab for those people. people who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives.

one of the legacies of our long war in afghanistan is what we have learn good life there for women and girls. tonight ann curry has an update on one woman who defied the taliban and paid a terrible price for it. her story is a portrait of bravery, and it includes the involvement of some extraordinary americans who were moved to act. this is the story of a girl who defied fate and against all odds survived. and while you may not know her name, you likely remember her face. this is aesha mohammadzai on the cover of "time" magazine in 2010 after her taliban husband and in-laws cut off her nose and parts of her ears. the image shocked the world and transformed aesha's life, taking her some 8,000 miles from home to of all places frederick, maryland, where she has finally landed on a quiet suburban street with an afghan american

family. it is here with mati and jamilla and their daughter mena that 22-year-old aesha has been able to begin a journey to a new life and a new face with the family she met almost by chance. do you remember your first glimpse of aesha? >> it was in "time" magazine. i saw the picture, and i saw -- i read the story, and i never thought that i will meet her. >> mati of shocked when he first met aesha. >> i'm a father. god forbid that somebody would do such a thing to my daughter or to my son. what would i do? i will burn the world. >> forced to marry at a young age, aesha was mutilated for running away, left for dead, a cousin helped her get to an american military hospital and eventually transferred to a shelter run by the organization women for afghan women. >> i would say probably 90% of

african households experience some form of abuse. >> the executive director of afghan women says aesha is just one of many cases of extreme abuse. what made you decide to have aesha photographed? >> we wanted to tell the world that look what the taliban are doing. >> you had no idea the impact of that photograph? >> not at all. >> you smile, why? >> well because everything changed for us and aesha after that photograph. >> offers for help poured in. and when aesha arrived in the u.s., a self ranger prosthetic nose was built for her. reconstructive surgery seemed to be on the horizon, but she was struggling emotionally and was prone to violent outbursts making it difficult to find her a home. desperate, women for afghan women sent her on a retreat with one of their board members who happened to be jamilla's cousin. they stopped by the house for tea. >> she didn't want to go back with my cousin. she asked her if she can stay

overnight. >> this is what i don't understand. you met her once. >> yeah. >> she spent one night with you. >> yeah. >> so why did you open your life to her? >> because i feel so much pain as she told me her story. she lost her mother. she was 2 years old. she's a person who survived all her life. we couldn't say no to her. >> the couple were both born and raised in afghanistan. >> the soccer, you don't have control, you cannot play soccer. >> mati is a civil engineer and volunteer soccer coach. jamilla practiced medicine in europe before marrying mati. with her medicbackground. she was able to help prepare aish for surgery. at first she was deemed not psychologically ready for surgery. >> no. she wants it, but she was not. >> in the home, aesha began to stabilize and finally in the

summer of 2012, doctors agreed she was ready to begin the grueling series of surgical procedures. this was aesha last december in midst of retrucktive surgery. her forehead had to be enlarged to create skin for the outer layer of her nose. >> i would never expect that i would be running to the hospital that many times, you know. and bring her from hospital and wash her hair. >> much of the care of aesha fell to mati because to try to get a residency to practice medicine in the united states, jamilla has had to work in a hospital in new york and commute home every weekend she can. her absence was hard on everyone, especially as the surgeries approached and aesha's moods swung wildly. >> i ask her, how can i make you happy, you know. and she said, "you know, when you give me all the world, i will always have this pain in my

chest what happened to me. it will not help." but we try at least to make it for her easier to go forwards. >> and slowly with patience, consistency, and love, progress has been made. this is aesha today. and even with many months of surgery still ahead, she finally has what she wanted most. did you ever think you would have a nose again? >> translatranslator: i never ti would have a nose again. i'm happy now that my surgeries are taking place. i endured a hard time, but something good is coming out of it for me. >> and today, aesha is finally ready to tell her story to the world. how old were you when you were married? >> 12. >> 12? at the tender age of 12, aesha's father gave her away to settle a dispute, a tradition called bond. she said her much older husband

and in-laws were rootsed in the tapgz and abused her severely -- taliban and abused her severely for five years. >> translator: at that time i was very scared. i never thought i could escape. then i said, "whatever it takes, i want my freedom." >> finally she ran. but she didn't get far before she was arrested and put in jail. after five months, the judge ordered her to go back to her husband. and that is when the unimaginable happened. >> translator: they tied my hands. they tied my feet. when they cut my nose, i lost consciousness. >> it was aesha's unbreakable will to survive that saved her. she dragged herself in the dark for hours, knocking on door after door. >> translator: i realized i had relatives in this town, so i knocked on their door. they said, "who is this?" i said, "it's "they cut my noise and ears off." they said, "go away.

go back to your father-in-law's house." >> what is your message about how you were treated by these men, your father, your husband, and his relatives? >> translator: i have bad feelings toward them. i don't even say he is my father, and i don't ever want to think he was my father. because fathers are so good. uncle mati has done more for me in one day than my father has ever done. >> she never trust a man because that thing has happened by the man. men tie her hands, men cut her nose. men cut her ears. that's what happened. it's hard for her to trust. >> it has gotten harder for the couple to care for aesha. while her surgeries are paid for by the military because she is considered a casualty of war, mati was laid off from his engineering job last december after 29 years. how bad is it financially for you now? >> it's hard but -- we will

manage. we did our part to aesha, and we will be doing it as long as we live. >> ah, this is where you do your jewelry? after so much suffering, aesha is finally looking forward to the next phases of her life. what is giving you the most happiness now? >> translator: i'm a very lucky girl that i finally got my own freedom. and i always want and pray for every woman to get her freedom like me. >> good luck to you in the future. >> thank you. >> english! bring it! >> incredible story. great ending. ann curry reporting from frederick, maryland, tonight. up next, he rose to fame and fortune as the dog whisperer. that's how we came to know him on television. in life, he was slowly losing it all. his story coming up from kate snow. travel a lot and umm...

[ male announcer ] at visa signature, every upgraded experience comes from listening to our cardholders. visa signature. your idea of what a card should be. featherswates brandof e. anti-reflective lenses. exclusively at lenscrafters. red robin caters to a lot of different tastes. we even have a garden burger just in case your teenage daughter is going through a phase. 24 burgers. a million reasons. ♪ red robin ♪ yummm!

♪ red robin so you can make easy, no-fee reloads with cash and checks... ♪ ♪ and know you're not on your own. so you can get the reloadable card that keeps up with you. chase liquid. so you can.

living on cloud nine with that u-verse wireless receiver. you see in my day, when my mom was repainting the house, you couldn't just set up a tv in the basement. i mean, come on! nope. we could only watch tv in the rooms that had a tv outlet. yeah if we wanted to watch tv someplace else, we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here. those kids wouldn't have lasted one day in our shoes. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles. rethink possible.

welcome back. cesar millan came along at exactly the right time in terms of television. it was really the dawn of reality television, and he had a special talent. he could make problem dogs actually obey. what he did and how he did it made him a well-man and made him well-known. we only saw the tv show version. we couldn't see what was going on in his personal life and the steep drop he was going through. tonight he opens up about that and the rebuilding process with our own kate snow. no dog can take that place just yet. >> when you go out for a walk with cesar millan at his ranch in the mountains outside l.a., cesar and his pack take you to the top of his world. >> the top of the mountain is mine.

>> this 43-acre ranch is his dog psychology center, and the symbol of his international success. this is a view. he was the star of the hit tv show "the dog whisperer with cesar millan" which ran for nine seasons on national geographic channel. [ barking ] >> when good dogs go bad -- >> 11 million people a week tuned in to see him tame the kind of dogs most people avoid. they bought his best-selling books, dog products, and sold out his live stage shows. >> welcome cesar millan! [ applause ] >> he specialized in training the toughest dogs with his own trademark philosophy that he is the leader of his pack. have these dogs all bitten people? >> yeah. >> what was that sound for? that sss, you're famous for that. >> the sound means whatever you're doing, it's unwanted now. sss. see, that's the touch. >> sss, hey. >> in a sign of his pop culture status, he made it on to "south park." >> sss. >> quit it!

>> his was the classic american success story. a poor kid from mexico who crossed the border illegally and slept under a highway overpass. he married and had two children and began his career walking unruly dogs in bad neighborhoods. when people saw you in los angeles walking the pack and doing what you do, were they scared of you? >> yeah. it's a mexican with a pack of dogs, yeah. >> on of t, he seemed in control of his pack and his life. he was proud to become a u.s. citizen. >> i train people. i wanted to have a place only for him. >> most people don't know what happened to cesar millan off camera at the height of his popularity. he almost lost everything. >> come on. >> it started three years ago when the dog who'd been at his side season after season, a pit bull named daddy, died. was he like an extension of you? >> no, he was better than me. way better. yeah, way better.

>> still reeling from that loss, days later cesar was in england on tour when the phone rang. it was his wife of 16 years. >> iet a call, you know. i'm getting a divorce. >> your wife just calls and says, "i want a divorce"? >> yeah. >> did she say why? >> well, you know, for the sake of the kids, i think it's better not to touch that point so much. >> cesar and his ex-wife have agreed not to talk publicly about the divorce which damaged his relationship with his boys. all he had was his work, and there were problems there, too. cesar claims he never paid much attention to the business side of his empire. turned out this he actually owned very little of it. not even the name of his own tv show. >> i am the dog whisperer. >> the production company says he was paid more than $10 million for his work in the midst of a legal battle, cesar's lawyer says the company still owes him millions. >> at the end of the day, i end up with no money. >> what do you mean you end up

with no money? >> right. zero money. >> you were broke. >> i was broke. >> for the first time in his life, cesar millan felt like he'd lost control. >> like, okay, i'm a failure. the owen this has happened is because of me. >> you got to a point where you didn't think it was worth living. >> no. so i -- i just made a decision and took a whole bunch of pills and tried to kill myself. >> did you really want to die? >> yeah. >> he mixed several bottles of pills. >> they called the paramedics. >> who called the pair med sonics>> the kids. >> did your kids find you? >> my kids found me. yeah. >> your boys? >> yeah. i ran to the gate saying -- i say, "take me to the ranch. i want to die with daddy." >> when cesar woke up in a psychiatric hospital, he found himself in a surreal situation, surrounded by fans. >> all the patients there knew me, and they didn't trust the psychologists but they trusted me.

so they wanted cesar to be n their consultations, you know. so i became their pack leader. so i -- >> at the hospital? >> at the hospital. with the patients. right? so that's why i say, okay, so i can help people. >> you got your self-esteem back, it sounds like. >> i have a sense of purpose, right? i like to have a purpose in life. i want to do something. i want to help. that's -- that's what drives me. >> he vowed to focus on his relationships with humans, not just dogs. >> with dogs i have all the empathy and compassion and calmness and patience that it is because i know what they want. sometimes people don't know what they want. >> he's mended things with his boys. the youngest, calvin, lives with cesar now and has a new partner, a girlfriend, jahida. >> cesar millan is the best man for the challenge. >> last year, cesar quit the "dog whisperer" and created

"cesar millan's leader of the pack" on nag geo wild. a program he controls and plans to grow around the world. >> do you have what it takes to be the leader of the pack? >> this program seems to showcase a gentler cesar millan. >> we're going to find you a new home. >> it is in contrast to the old cesar, criticized by animal behaviorists for being too aggressive. do you ever feel badly about doing something to a dog? >> no. no, no, no. i'm not doing it to hurt him. it's not my intention. it's not the whole essence of what i do. i'm going to show you what i'm going to build, a waterfall. >> a watertall? the essence of what he does, he says, is connecting the world through dogs. >> i'm back to focus. i'm back to a new dream, you know. so i'm inspired. i'm motivated. >> and along with his motivation, a new perspective. >> what makes you wise in life is not the successes. it's when you go down and come

back. >> kate snow on the story of cesar millan from santa clarita, california, tonight. up next, the way we used to look and talk when the only people serving you on the plane were the stewardesses of the skies. ible things. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪ folks have suffered from frequent heartburn. but getting heartburn and then treating day after day is a thing of the past. block the acid with prilosec otc, and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

it's the only place you'll find the st. john's bay clothes he loves. all the styles he looks so good in. plus, the legendary comfort he feels so good in. and right now, st. john's bay polos are only $9.99. lots of sizes. 45 colors. so come back to jcpenney and save on his favorite brands. we'd love to see you. and it's the easiest way ever to put the happy in happy father's day. we chip away. making the colors of earth and sunset skies into rich interior accents. or putting the beauty of a forest in the palm of your hands... it will take you to another place... wherever you happen to be.

this is the new 2014 jeep grand cherokee. it is the best of what we're made of. well-qualified lessees can lease the 2014 grand cherokee laredo 4x4 for $359 a month. so you can capture your receipts, ink for all business purchases. and manage them online with jot, the latest app from ink. so you can spend less time doing paperwork. and more time doing paperwork. ink from chase. so you can. and be good for your face? [ female announcer ] now there's new neutrogena® naturals acne cleanser. acne medicine from the wintergreen leaf treats breakouts. no parabens or harsh sulfates. for naturally clear skin. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® naturals.

[ male announcer ] if you're searching for the perfect gift for father's day at&t is the place to get a great deal on one of the newest smartphones. ♪ come in now and you can get half off on the htc one the samsung galaxy s4 or the blackberry® z10 when you trade in a current smartphone. ♪ so for this father's day, visit at&t and get dad a gift you know he'll love, now for $99.99. ♪

using our final moments of primetime, we have a treat for you this week from the nbc news archives, the gift that keeps on giving. it is a mini documentary on flight attendants, and it's placed in time right when "mad men" is supposed to be taking place now, the late '60s. it's an unbelievable time capsule, and a big heaping pile of things we don't say or do anymore. so by today's standards, prepare to be amazed and at least slightly offended boy that special edition of "rock bottom" from the depths of our film vault. >> basic training for stewardesses is meant to turn a girl into a woman. the airline gives her beauty tips, a sense of responsibility,

and a practical trade. but you're likely to end up with something less than a full-time jet sophisticate or oxidental geisha. feeding and caring for a planeload of passengers can be as glamorous as a stint behind the counter at the five and ten. >> that used too be a store whe things cost five and ten cents. we move to the class where they learn how to make the cabin announcements. please note they are the same inane announcements we passengers still enjoy today. it's in this room where they all learn to say those little gems like, "or wherever your final destination may be." but this one's a bit dated. >> please extinguish all cigarettes at this time. thank you for flying with us today. >> we also get to hear what life is like for these women. >> flying to me has been exciting. >> sometimes just plain fun. >> you learn so much about life, people. >> really, really fun. >> many of the girls have answering services. >> now many of the girls have modern voicemail.

the film shows the safety aspect of training and the physical fitness portion of training while not quite equinox, visible proof that spinning has always existed. it just wasn't called that. the iron pumping is less than robust, and these things were actually used to make women fit and trim. and that's another thing -- it's all women. back then the men only flew the plane. the gender roles are so dated they're bracing to hear. >> stewardesses like jetliners must be slinky sex symbols. pilots can be homely and bald. >> back in the cabin, listen for the clue that times have changed -- >> we are airborne, we'll be serving you dinner. >> there it was right there. if you guessed dinner, you'd be correct. even the building is supposed to impress our impressionable girls. >> stewardess schools are usually palaces. a girl from ft. wayne is bound to be impressed. >> wait just a minute here and forgive the interruption, but

ft. wayne has a dozen art museums and galleries, more than one newspaper, and its own philharmonic. the people of ft. wayne are not easily impressed. now back to our nbc news feature presentation. >> this cocktail is then placed on a tidbit tray and served to the passenger. >> when was the last time you saw a tidbit tray, including on the ground? this is where the film begins to turn a little dark, and we start hearing the grim stats of a career spent in the air. >> the stewardess works an average of 18 months, then quits. just a year and a half. some get married, frequently to passengers. many leave the job because they find they don't like it anymore. >> so what have we learned? flight attendants had a tough job back then back when flying was glamorous. now -- now most planes are buses with wings. they charge for everything that used to be free. planes are crowded, and passengers haven't gotten any

nicer. some of them need to be duct taped to their seats. the lesson here -- unless they're not nice to you, be nice to your flight attendants. it's still a tough job serving customers in an aluminum tube hurtling through the air. and a bunch of them are up in the sky right now either just starting a long voyage or hoping to get home by the end of the week late on a friday night. that is our broadcast for this week. for all the good folks who work so hard to bring it to you, thank you for being here with us. have a good weekend. good night from new york. and your late local news beg >> next -- a brothel bust in san mateo county. >> very shocked. >> who is to blame for menopause? it is men. the link between a preference for younger women and menopause. the news starts in 30 second.

>> very shocked. i would have never thought that could happen in this neighborhood. >> an international sex ring next door to her upscale apartment complex on the peninsula. our top story is new. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. a prostitution ring busted in the backyard of unsuspecting neighbors. no one could imagine what was happening inside the apartment. especially the neighbors tonight stunned by the